


In Place of the Usual (Doom and Gloom)

by delighted



Series: A Cure for Doom and Gloom [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-02 05:20:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6552637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delighted/pseuds/delighted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After their weekend together, Steve and Danny start to explore new areas of their relationship, and how things might change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> So, the work week following that lovely weekend.... Five chapters, posted every other day, so the last on the 22nd.
> 
> And after that, not too long from now, Part Eight-- or, the weekend with the kids. I know some of you are really itching for that one. :-)
> 
> (And, yes..... I do have notes for Part Nine.....)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When Danny awoke Monday morning, he smiled so hugely at the memory of the night before. He took a deep breath, and let it out with a shudder and a bit of a sob, pressed his lips together, and moved closer to Steve, pressing himself into Steve’s back, wrapping his arm around his chest, luxuriating in the soft hairs on that solid chest, pressing his hand over Steve’s heart, and kissing his shoulder.

“Mmmmm,” Steve purred, and pressed back against Danny, and Danny knew there was no way Steve could miss it.... Steve flipped himself over to face Danny, eying him with a smirk that spoke volumes. “Morning,” he said, and his tone was smug and heated and Danny was a little amused, thinking Steve didn’t really need the ego boost, yet at the same time realizing that any and all signs that Danny meant everything he’d said the night before were going to be very, very good for Steve.

“Morning, babe,” Danny cooed.

“So, you, ah, do...” Steve began, but let off with a blush.

“I do... what?” Danny encouraged, his eyebrows raised.

Steve looked down at Danny’s obvious interest and back up at his eyes, biting his lip.

Danny tilted his head. “Uh, yeah, babe,” he held back the smirk. Just.

“It’s just that... before... I never noticed....” Steve raised an eyebrow and looked a little sheepish.

Danny sighed. “Yeah, when I’m really emotional, uh, it’s not so much a problem,” he began. “Why, did you? I never....”

Steve blushed, and took a breath in, holding it, looking at Danny openly, then let it out. “Yeah, I’m, uh, kind of amazed you never noticed. But yeah. Not every day, but, there were days I got up before you, and, uh....” He blushed.

Danny’s cheeks heated at the thought, and he reached down as he moved forward to claim those pink lips. “Well, we’ve got a lot to make up for, then, haven’t we?”

They kind of used up Steve’s swimming time not to mention Danny’s coffee-on-the-beach time, but neither of them seemed to mind in the least.

Danny couldn’t stop grinning like a fool, and he was positive that Kono would know, with one damn look, just exactly what had happened over the weekend. Of course, it was entirely possible that she’d known it before seeing him, and he found himself frighteningly giddy. He realized he was hoping for a case, but of course, none came. They had the paperwork from the Friday and Saturday cases to occupy themselves, and there was enough red tape that needed dealing with over both those cases that it distracted most of them for most of the day. After lunch, feeling a bit sleepy, and knowing the others were just as deadened from the mindless paperwork, Danny decided to go out for coffee for everyone. When he stopped by Kono’s office to ask her what she wanted, she jumped up.

“I’ll come with you!” She practically yelled, clearly as stir crazy as he felt.

They walked slowly, once they were out in the sun and fresh air, and Danny waited, patiently, for Kono to break. She impressed him by waiting until they were at the coffee shop.

“Let’s just get ours first and sit here for a bit,” she said, conspiratorially. “I need a break.” She smirked at Danny, but didn’t say anything else till they were seated with their drinks. And a brownie to share. “So,” she said. And then waited for Danny to speak.

He smiled, bit his lip, and leaned back, breaking off a piece of the brownie, and licking his lip before popping it in.

Kono rolled her eyes and laughed. “Don’t I get anything?” She asked, amused but slightly exasperated.

Danny pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows. “Like what?” He asked, innocently.

“Oh my God, you’re impossible,” she said, and took a big chunk off the brownie. “I’m going to need a lot more chocolate if I’m going to have to put up with this,” she said, jokingly.

“Ok,” Danny smiled, sweetly. “I’ll bring you lots of chocolate.” And he pressed his lips together, and he knew he was blushing.

Kono shook her head, laughing. They finished the brownie in happy companionship, and as they walked back with coffees for the rest of the team, she slung an arm around Danny and pulled him close.

“I’m so happy for you both,” she whispered. “So happy.” And she kissed him on the cheek, and he blushed even more.

When they got back to the office, she handed Danny Steve’s cup with a wink, took the others herself, and somehow got Chin and Lou to go with her to take Jerry his drink.

Danny walked into Steve’s office, set the coffee on Steve’s desk, and stood there, smiling. He knew Steve had seen the exodus, so he wasn’t surprised when Steve stood and walked to Danny, pulling him in for a slow, sweet, heated kiss. They sat down on the sofa, and Danny rested a hand on Steve’s knee, Steve’s arm flung around Danny’s shoulders on the back of the sofa.

“You, ah, you don’t tell...” Steve started.

Danny tilted his head and looked up at his partner with fondness and a bit of bemusement.

“No, babe. No details. But she’s not blind.” He moved his hand from Steve’s knee to his chest. “I love you so much, and I know it’s written in my eyes, and she’s not, heck, they’re not—not any of them, going to miss it.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, I know.” And he leaned in to kiss Danny again. “Still.” He sighed. “This is ours, you know? It’s not.... It’s different, from the team.”

Danny smiled. “Babe, they know that. But in a way, it’s part of the team.” He laughed and scratched the back of his head. “You know that joke, about mom and dad fighting again, when we argue?” He looked in Steve’s eyes, watched his reaction, because he knew Steve enjoyed those moments of teasing. “There’s going to be stuff like that. Of course there is. But they love us, and they’ll give us our space. Trust them. Besides. We’ve got Kono on our side, and she’s been amazing so far at controlling it.” He smirked. “I think she gets that from you.”

Steve huffed out a laugh, but seemed reassured. “Yeah, ok, Danny.”

Danny smiled. “It’s so cute, Steve, to see you so concerned about that. When you’re always the one plastering yourself all over me in front of them.”

Steve tilted his head at Danny and raised his eyebrows. “That was  _before_ , Danny.”

“What, and now it’s real, it’s going to be different?” He asked.

Steve let out a breath. “I don’t know. To be honest? I just don’t know.”

Danny turned sideways on the sofa to face him. “Babe, we’ll figure it out, ok? Let’s just go easy and see how it goes, ok?” And he could tell Steve needed it, so he leaned in for a kiss. “I love you.” Steve smiled.

“I love you, too,” Steve replied. “Let’s get this paper work done so we can go home.”

And Danny smirked at the thought, and reluctantly left Steve’s side to go back to his office and finish his work.

When they finally got home, Steve of course wanted to swim, but Danny was starving, so he made salads with some of the leftovers from the weekend, and grabbed a couple of beers and took them out to the beach, not waiting for Steve to come back before he started eating. He’d gone back for more beer by the time Steve came out of the water, and he was relaxed and sated and  _happy_ , and when Steve kissed him, all wet and salty, Danny wanted to take him directly to bed.

“You, ah...” Danny started. “How hungry are you?” He asked, and he was fairly sure he was salivating.

Steve could evidently tell. “I can wait,” he whispered, and grabbed the tray of food and his towel. “Shower with me?” He asked, softly, as they headed up to the house.

Danny gulped. “Yeah.”

Afterwards, Danny reflected that Steve had never spent that much time in the shower in all the time he’d known him. But he smirked when he pointed out to himself that Steve was not complaining. As lovely as the shower had been, Danny still wanted Steve in  _bed_ , thank you very much, but Steve needed to eat, and frankly Danny’d worked up a bit of an appetite again, so they headed downstairs and stood at the kitchen island while Steve ate the salad Danny had made for him, and Danny nibbled on leftovers, and they shared a beer, as well as kisses. After a while, Danny settled himself against Steve’s chest, pressed between Steve and the counter, and really he was just trying to get as much contact as possible—having awakened, ok, admitted, the longing he had for Steve, it was really really not easy to resist—but it seemed to be working towards achieving his aim, as it wasn’t long before Steve basically growled, kind of  _threw_  the food back in the fridge, and dragged Danny upstairs.

Steve took the lead this time, and Danny was more than happy to let him. It felt amazing, indulgent, sumptuous, and fourteen other things, to be the object on which the mind and energy of Steve McGarrett was focused. Danny thought he would come completely apart and not mind a single minute of it. He’d felt before, long before any of this even started, that Steve had a bit of a protective streak when it came to his partner. Certainly on a case, always yelling first for Danny, always looking for him first after an explosion. But also just those nights out with the team, arm slung protectively, possessively, around his shoulders. And, of course, he’d been alternately infuriated and amused when that possessiveness had kept Danny from hooking up with someone when they were out together. So, it didn’t surprise Danny that it came out in bed. What maybe did surprise him is just how much he enjoyed it. And, ok, “enjoyed” was not nearly a strong enough word, judging by the sounds he made, which actually made him blush—and you know that’s saying a whole lot.

Of course, Steve loved that. Of course he did. And Danny found himself shaking his head just a little, amused at how Steve gloated over his apparent “enjoyment,” but to add to the list of things Danny just did not mind at all, well. Danny actually really liked being the source of that look on Steve’s face.

They stayed wrapped around each other at the end, reluctant to part even a little, and Danny knew it was partly the newness, the sheer relief, and maybe just a hint of fear that it was all too wonderful and too easy and would just slip away if they didn’t watch it closely enough. He knew that would fade, for both of them—the fear would. They needed to get past the initial... shock, almost. They needed some sort of “proof” that it was real. And he knew they’d get there. Which. Actually, as he thought about it... he surprised himself with that. Usually, at this point in a relationship, he’d be freaking out about how soon it would end. And, for the first time, with Steve, he just didn’t have that sense of doom. And so he found himself crying.

“Hey, Danny,” Steve whispered in his ear, kissing his tears, rubbing his shoulder, pulling him even closer. “You’re not freaking out, are you?”

Danny laughed between sobs. “I’m actually not, which is kind of freaking me out.”

Steve laughed, and pulled Danny up and on top of him. “It’s ok. It would be weird if you didn’t freak out a little,” and Steve smirked, but Danny didn’t even feel a little annoyed.

Danny smiled. “Thanks, babe.”

“But, Danny,” Steve said, eyes locking with his intently. “If you do freak out... promise you’ll tell me right away, ok? I don’t care when, just... tell me, ok?”

And, yeah, Danny’s mouth dropped open a little, and he bit his lip, and his tears fell on Steve’s cheeks as he leaned down and kissed him. “Oh my God, I love you so much,” he whispered into Steve’s mouth, and it was a good long while before they finally went to sleep.


	2. Tuesday

Tuesday was one of those really long days that just drain your soul. A rough case showed up as they were making their way into the office, and another followed shortly after, so the team split the two, overlapping when needed (Kono wound up spending most of the day going between the guys, holding down the fort with Jerry as they wrangled the intel as best they could, and pulled in support from HPD as needed). Both cases wrapped, for the day at least, close to four, by which point none of them had stopped to breathe let alone eat, so they all wound up at Kamekona’s, going through probably too many beers and a frightening number of shrimp plates. Max joined them as well, as he’d had just as frustrating a day as the rest of them. Danny was amazed he’d been able to keep the two cases separate enough in his head. Tensions were still high, as the strain from the day began to fade, and Danny could tell that Steve was not pleased about a number of things from the day, and was trying to make things up to his team as he bought round after round of beers. Once Danny had eaten and begun to relax, he started focusing on the tension that was still filling Steve’s body. Eventually, the draw of being horizontal pulled at each of them, and the team slowly headed towards their cars—and bed. Steve seemed reluctant to move, so Danny stayed with him, till everyone had gone.

Once the last of them had left, Steve slumped a little, and Danny wrapped an arm around him before he could stop himself. Things had been so tense, it hadn’t been hard to keep from being overly demonstrative, but now, Steve seemed to need it so much.... Still, he wasn’t about to openly show his hand in the presence of the deceptively dense Kamekona. The man possessed observational skills that utterly belied his thick-headed exterior, Danny knew. Instead, he tugged on Steve and attempted to get him up for a walk on the beach. He knew the sound of the waves would soothe Steve, and the movement, despite their exhaustion, would be helpful in getting Steve to talk about whatever was bugging him.

“Rough day, eh, babe?” Danny asked, tentatively, once they were strolling down the wet sand. They’d tossed their shoes in the trunk, and even Danny would admit, the warm sand was therapeutic.

Steve grunted, noncommittally, and reached for Danny’s hand. With a smile, Danny squeezed back, and they continued to walk down the beach, holding hands.

After a while, Steve began to speak. “I just kept worrying that, in the middle of all that, when we were all so distracted, so busy, so... divided....” He trailed off, took a shuddering breath, then continued. “I kept worrying that Gabriel was going to show up right in the middle of it, and we’d be lost.”

Danny leaned in towards Steve, firming his grasp on his hand, and sighing. “Yeah, babe, I thought the same thing,” he admitted.

Steve stopped walking and looked at Danny. “Really?” He asked, sounding stunned enough that Danny found he felt a little offended.

“Yeah, babe, I’m sure we all did. We were vulnerable today, divided like that. I bet Chin was nervous as all get out that Gabriel was actually behind it. I was for a bit myself.” He wanted so badly to kiss Steve, but he didn’t think they were quite at that point yet. “Babe, why does that surprise you?”

Steve sighed, shrugged, and resumed walking.

Resisting the urge to hold Steve back from moving, because Danny knew it would be easier to get something out of him this way, Danny thought for a moment.

“Remember what I said to you, Steven, about not shouldering this by yourself?”

Steve squeezed his hand. “Yeah, Danny, I remember.”

“Ok,” Danny replied slowly. “So, don’t.”  And he wanted to stop walking, wanted to kiss Steve, wanted... ugh, so much. “Maybe we should all talk about it?” He offered instead. “Maybe, talking about it, and being aware of it is the better thing to do. It’s almost like, we’re all worried about it but not talking about it, and maybe that’s why today was so frightening. We’re sitting on eggshells, and we don’t know when they’ll break. But it’s like we’re acting as though there’s nothing we can do about it. But there is. We can talk about it.”

Steve sighed, and Danny could tell he was letting go of some of the tension that had been coursing through his body all day. “Yeah, ok, Danny, you have a point.” And he stopped walking, turned to Danny, and smiled. “Thank you.” And now Danny could tell it was Steve who was holding back from kissing him. “Let’s get out of here. I need....” And he dropped Danny’s hand like it was suddenly made of fire and let off with a look that sent shivers up Danny’s spine.

“Yeah, babe, me too,” Danny replied, and they walked back to the car, quite quickly.

They barely made it inside the front door before they fell back against it, kissing frantically, reaching into each other’s pants, and just going for it right there. It was over in mere moments, and they were laughing, but still frantic and needy.

“Babe,” Danny said, pulling back (and that took a lot of strength of will to do). “I really think you should swim. It will clear your head of all the crap of today.”

Steve glared heatedly at Danny, but nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But, come sit on the beach? Please?”

A slow, sweet, and really fond smile spread across Danny’s face. “Of course, babe.”

Steve ran up to change, and Danny got out the tray and some snacks because he was still hungry, and he laughed as he realized part of why he was so hungry lately, and he smirked and blushed at the same time, but of course, sex with Steve was like exercise, and so of course his appetite was larger than usual, and he was still laughing about that when Steve came back down and grabbed him from behind, biting kisses onto the back of his neck, and he leaned into that, purring, for about a  minute before he gasped and pulled back, saying, “Hey now, let’s not give the team more clues than they need, can we please.”

Steve laughed, grabbed two beers from the fridge, added them to the tray, and carried it, arm wrapped (possessively of course) around Danny, and dragged him out to the beach. He’d brought two towels, and spread one on Danny’s chair for him, and Danny smiled, licked his lips, and pushed Steve by the ass towards the water.

“Hurry up would you, please.” And Steve lifted an eyebrow at him in response, looking like he was reconsidering leaving land, and Danny’s side. Danny gestured. “Go swim!”

“Yes, sir,” Steve replied, and splashed out to sea.

Danny sighed, shook his head, and opened his beer.

Well, he admitted, it was high time they faced up to the threat, the specter, that was Gabriel Waincroft. After all, that _had_ been essentially how they’d “gotten here.” He smiled at the thought of where “here” was. It was actually something he hadn’t thought too much about, where they were, what they were doing... it had been mostly about doing, once he’d realized he couldn’t do anything else, Wednesday night. He had pretty much been operating on instinct since then. Which was, unsurprisingly, rare for Danny Williams... who typically over-thought, or at least over-worried, just about everything. It was kind of nice. Ok, maybe a little more than kind of. But, this was one of those key themes that had started it all, and ignoring it was not helping. Danny’d thought, a little bit here and there, about what the best approach might be. He was still confident in his original assessment that it was echoes of Victor Hesse that rang in Steve’s ears whenever Gabriel came up. The incident with Chin and the collar of explosives was etched in his own mind, and he was reasonably certain it haunted Steve... on a very similar level as his dad’s death. And maybe there was an extra layer there because of the connection between John McGarrett and Chin, and maybe that wouldn’t have mattered at all. But the other thing that Danny had at some point realized was that, although he did have some knowledge about some of the other... interactions... Steve had had with Hesse, he by no means knew them all, and he certainly did not know details. He had begun to suspect that there had been other traumatizing events linked with Hesse that also still echoed in Steve’s mind. He knew enough about dealing with horrible and shocking events to know that the mind sometimes made the craziest of links, and that without even being aware of it, those events could make a situation into something completely different because of some association the mind made. He’d experienced that himself, on an unfortunate number of cases, and not just things like kids getting kidnapped, though even thinking of that made him break out in a cold sweat. But, if Steve had, and Danny was pretty sure he’d never admit it, but if Steve had lost a team member to Hesse... well. Danny was fairly sure that was what had happened. And he was equally sure that each time he wound up freaking out about Gabriel, there had been something that had triggered that memory. Thing was, Danny imagined, he’d never be able to work that out, and he really didn’t imagine Steve would—probably even if he was able to, which Danny was fairly sure he was not—talk about it. So. How could Danny do something to help... at least ease that association, so that, if nothing else, dealing with Gabriel was _just_ dealing with Gabriel, and not also the ghost of Hesse. He knew there were methods used by trauma therapists to help victims deal with truly terrorizing events. He’d experienced some of that first hand back in Jersey... after the Towers. He had his own small terrors he’d had to face up to, and yeah, he’d had to go to counseling. Everyone had after that day. Danny wasn’t sure how they dealt with it in the military, let alone with SEALs, but he knew Steve was not going to talk about that, so Danny probably would never even know if Steve had ever gotten any kind of therapy. He hated to imagine he hadn’t, but he just couldn’t be sure. Steve was pretty stoic about that stuff.

Danny sighed again, and finished his beer in one huge gulp. All he could come up with was that getting Steve to talk about his fears about Gabriel, to share with Danny when he was feeling it, and to share the burden with the team... if he could get Steve out of solitary SEAL mode for just one moment, and into a place of Danny’s partner, and member of a team... well. Danny’s gut told him that would really help. Problem was, Danny’s head wasn’t altogether certain that would be possible. But, he reflected, as he saw Steve nearing the shore, stranger things had happened. He smiled, a bit sadly, and thought to himself that if he could find a way to get load-bearing Steve to allow him, even just him and not the rest of the team, to share that load.... Well, he’d count that as a job well done for sure.

“Hey, babe,” Danny said softly, as Steve walked out of the water, glistening in the setting sunlight. Steve walked to him, pulled him up and into a kiss.

“Thanks, Danny,” Steve whispered into his ear as he held him close after the kiss. “You were right, I needed that. But now...” and he kissed him again, then whispered into his mouth: “Now I need _you_.” And Danny’s blood heated, and his thoughts about Gabriel faded for the time being, and he went with Steve back to the house, and keeping to his vow to tell Steve how much he needed him every day, began to work on that.


	3. Wednesday

Danny woke in a bad mood. Which was never a good sign. Because, if Danny woke up in a bad mood, he was likely to stay in a bad mood all day. This was fine. He was used to it. He’d long ago learned to just go with it, not fight it, and just get through the day, get to bed, and wake up, and chances were he’d be fine the next morning.

Problem was, Steve didn’t know this. Yet. And Steve had gotten used to Danny being in a good mood in the morning. Or, at least, not being in a bad one. Because, despite his tendency to gather a bad mood in any given day, Danny almost always began the day in a good one.

So, almost the first thought Danny had when he woke in an awful mood Wednesday morning was to be worried about how it was going to impact Steve. The second thought Danny had when he woke up was that Steve was already up. Danny could smell the coffee and something cooking. That was odd, he thought to himself. Usually, ok, almost always, Steve swam first. Danny sat up, rubbed his eyes, and sighed a little dramatically. He thought about going downstairs to see what Steve was up to, but he wanted to try and get in a better mood first. Thing was, he really couldn’t. It was like he just needed to wallow. Danny sat forward, punched his pillow a lot harder than it needed, and flounced back against it, staring daggers at the wall. He was still sitting like that when Steve walked into the room, a breakfast tray fit for a B&B in his hands. He set the tray carefully on the bed, and smiled uncertainly at Danny.

“Babe,” Danny croaked out. “What’s all this?”

“Just a little breakfast in bed,” Steve said softly, and very sweetly. “Coffee, fresh fruit, eggs, toast....” He smiled.

Danny shook his head. “No crumbs in the bed, McGarrett,” he whispered.

“A few crumbs won’t kill me, Danny.” And he sat down and leaned towards Danny tentatively, as if he wasn’t sure of his welcome.

Danny started to move forwards to kiss him, but stilled at the expression on his face, and pulled back. “What’s that look for, and what’s this really about?” He asked, maybe a tad accusatively.

“Danny. If you think I’ve never noticed that on Wednesdays when you don’t get Grace that you’re in a bad mood all day and there’s nothing I can do that makes it better...." He sighed. "You don’t really think I’ve never noticed that, do you?”

Well, now. Danny tried to hide his shock, but he was pretty sure he failed completely, because Steve looked a little hurt, but only for a moment. “Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Steve replied, just a tad forlornly, before brushing it off, and pushing the tray closer to Danny. “Come on, Danny. Let me try, ok?”

Forcing a smile, and taking a bite of pineapple, Danny nodded. “You trying to tell me something with the pineapple, babe?” He managed.

Steve grinned. “Would that help?” He asked, eyebrows raised.

Danny smiled a little more naturally, and pulled Steve in for a kiss. “ _This_ helps.” He sighed. “Thanks, babe. And, babe, there’s never nothing you can do to make it better. It might seem like it, and I’m sorry. But, you always help. Even when there’s nothing you can do.” He felt Steve shudder a little bit at that, and saw what he should have realized before, that Steve needed to be able to help, needed to be needed, and that was just such a huge part of him, wasn’t it. If Danny could get Steve to really understand that Danny really needed him, that he _did_ help... that would, he knew, be huge for Steve. “I don’t know how many more ways I can tell you this," he said. "But I will keep telling you all the ways I can think of until you get it, and I’ll keep telling you even then. Babe, I need you. Never doubt that. I need you to be my positive voice, I need you to listen to me yell, I need you to yell back at me, I need you....” He sighed, then gasped a little as Steve leaned against him for another kiss. Danny smiled. “I really can’t eat this in bed, can we please go out to the lanai?”

“Danny, I really don’t mind, I promise,” Steve said, and as if to prove his point, he grabbed a piece of toast. Danny shook his head bemusedly, and took a sip of his coffee.

“Well, the good news, at least,” Danny tried to smile. “Is that Rachel feels guilty enough about it that she agreed to let Charlie sleep over Saturday night.” Steve smiled hugely at that and it warmed Danny’s heart. “Sunday is pending how he does, but she’s at least willing to be open to it.”

“Danny, that’s great, man, I’m so glad.”

“Yeah, well, we will see. You may be getting yourself in for more than you realize. Grace has been talking you up to the kid, so he’s more than a little excited to go ‘camping’ with Uncle SEAL Steve. He, uh, he might think you’re actually part seal. Grace has been kind of vague with that, intentionally, I think.” He paused to smile, admittedly proud of his daughter for her sweet but a little bit snarky tendencies. “I’m not altogether sure what Charlie expects.”

Steve pulled Danny in for a kiss. “Danny, I’m just so excited to get to spend time with them, whatever happens, know that I’m loving it, ok?”

Danny sighed, and closed his eyes. “Thanks, babe. That means a lot.”

And, they finished their breakfast, and then cuddled some more, which maybe led to some taking advantage of the pineapple, and nearly being late for work.

Fortunately, after the strain of the previous day, it was a fairly easy day, with just a minor case that Steve let Chin and Lou handle, while he sent Kono out to surf—medicinal, he claimed—and kept Danny at the office to do the paperwork from the day before with him. They sat in Steve’s office together, and worked slowly though everything, and Danny felt like Steve was actually allowing him to be his partner, in the sense that Danny often lectured him about. Maybe he was just drained from the day before, or maybe Steve was doing some sort of distract-Danny sort of thing, or maybe, just maybe he was actually allowing Danny to share some of the burden of the awfulness that had been Tuesday, but whatever the reason, Danny found himself feeling oddly proud of Steve.

He may have been smiling too fondly at Steve while he talked about the cases, because Steve let off with a worried look. “Danny....?” He said, eyebrows raised, expression open but demanding.

Danny smiled and shook his head. “Nothing, babe, just thinking it’s nice, this.”

“Paperwork?”

“No, sharing it, you goof.” And yeah, it was hard to not lean in and kiss Steve. But they smiled, and it was like they tucked it away for later, or something, but they went back to their work, although Danny might have been a little distracted for a bit.

It was a little later than normal by the time they got home, but Danny insisted that Steve swim, if only just for half the normal time, and Danny did some cleaning while Steve swam, just to start getting ready for the kids. They made an easy dinner together in the kitchen, between sips of wine and kisses, and ate it sitting out on the downstairs lanai, and talked through some ideas for the weekend with the kids. After they ate, Danny called Charlie and Grace to talk about it, while Steve practiced his guitar softly in the background, and Danny found his heart was feeling a lot fuller than he would have imagined possible.

“Charlie is so excited for this weekend, I think Rachel is going to kill me,” Danny smiled at Steve when he hung up the phone.

Steve looked at him quizzically. “Why?” He asked.

Danny couldn’t help it, he laughed, then bit his lip. “Because I don’t think getting him to sleep tonight is going to be easy....” And yeah, he was rather enjoying the thought, so help him.

Steve laughed and shook his head. “Play nice, please,” he said softly, but pulled Danny in for a sweet kiss. “I’m so glad, Danny. And, not just for you, you know. I’m really looking forward to getting to know him. You know I love Grace, so much. But I really want to get to know Charlie, too.”

Danny tried to hold the tears back because he didn’t want to open the floodgates, and he was just far too emotional about Steve wanting to be with his kids.... But one fell anyway, and Steve wiped it away. “That makes me so happy, babe,” he managed.

“I want this weekend to be perfect for you,” Steve said softly. “I know how important it is.”

Danny smiled. “Babe, having the three of you here with me... I can’t possibly imagine anything any more wonderful than that.”

“Good,” Steve whispered to Danny’s lips. “Me too.” And he kissed him lightly. “We should go to bed,” he said when he pulled back.

They showered together, and maybe Danny made a big deal of making sure all the sand was washed completely off Steve’s body, but Steve didn’t seem to mind the excessive water use, not one bit. Then they settled into bed, still pretty alert, but somehow not quite in the mood for anything other than holding each other. Danny felt it was because there was this novelty to what had happened that day... of what Steve had tried to do... of what Steve  _had done_. And, Danny admitted that probably Steve had pulled him out of his funks before, or rather, been that presence by his side that guided him through it... but this felt different, it felt new, and it had been amazing. And, as that thought swirled around in his head, it made him notice something else.

“Do you realize,” Danny began thoughtfully, “that when you’re helping me with my stuff, you seem to do better? And, it’s not like with me, where I bury mine and focus on yours so I don’t think about mine, but I think it actually _helps_ you.” And, yeah, Danny had been so occupied with his own issues that day, he’d very nearly forgotten about Steve’s of the day before....

Steve smiled. “Of course it does, Danny,” he said, softly, and kissed the top of Danny’s head, which Danny still absolutely loved. “Because I love you, and anything I can do to help you helps me....” He trailed off, and Danny held his breath, because had Steve just been expressing awareness of this? “Well, I mean, doesn’t that just make sense?”

Danny shook his head fondly. “Babe, for you, yes. God, and it’s so sweet, but you just have no idea.” He took a deep breath. “It’s not exactly the follows logically kind of thing you make it seem. Not everyone works that way. Most people don’t. Well, ok, a lot of people.” He sighed. “Some people are much more... much _less_ selfless than that.” And Danny was trying, really hard not to regret some of the choices he’d made when it came to partners. “But for you? Yeah. It makes total sense.” And he was worried about those floodgates again, but Steve held him close, those strong, supportive arms wrapping themselves protectively around Danny, and he felt so safe and so loved, he just felt like his heart was so full.... And the fact that Steve wanted the kids there... he felt like it was Christmas and his birthday and as he reveled in the realization that Steve had actually managed to pull him out of his Wednesday bad mood after all, Danny found himself wondering what other impossible things Steve could do, if he let him. He closed his eyes and let his head fall against Steve’s chest, and listening to the beating of that constant heart, he fell asleep, smiling.


	4. Thursday

Thursday they got one of those cases that Danny always hated to see, where a wily, controlling someone got some poor, weak-minded, previously well-behaved person to do something completely stupid and regrettable. In this particular instance, it was a rather terrifying woman with a record as long as Danny’s arm who got her talons into a young, impressionable college student with debts and a new family to support. And, while Danny was angered and saddened by it, that was nothing compared to how Steve was taking it. Beyond the usual Steve-trigger-issue of a child suddenly left without a father, Steve seemed to have a bit of a button when it came to manipulative, controlling women entrapping formerly well-intentioned people. He’d seen that look in Steve’s eyes a couple times before, and it had fascinated him. And, frankly, terrified him a little. Sometimes Danny found himself wondering what Steve was like on his super secret missions, what drove him through the horrifying things Danny knew Steve had seen and done. The closest Danny imagined he’d gotten to seeing something close to that had been on two occasions. With cases like this one, and that nightmare with Matt. Danny pulled himself forcibly away from those thoughts, and turned to focus on Steve, who was driving them home.

“Will you go for a swim before you make me dinner, babe?” He asked, softly, but with enough force to hopefully grab Steve’s attention.

That at least got a smile from Steve, as Danny broke his too-thoughtful silence. “Can you wait?”

“I can wait. Come on, you need a good swim.”

Steve turned to Danny with a sweet smile. “Ok, you’re right, sounds nice. Thanks, buddy.”

When they got home, Steve ran up to change, then practically sprinted to the water, while Danny grabbed a couple beers and headed out to sit by the water while Steve burned off his anger.

Danny had finished both beers before Steve slumped back to land. He collapsed in the chair next to Danny, and sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I let that case get to me so much.”

“Really?” Danny asked, softly. “’Cause I kinda do.” And yeah, Steve did get it, if the look on his face was anything to go by. “It’s because of Rachel, isn’t it? Well. In part. Because of what she did to me over Charlie.” He watched Steve swallow, but other than that, he didn’t react. “You know. It’s really sweet, how you let your personal life dictate how you react to cases. One might imagine a Navy SEAL would be trained to not let emotions rule their missions....” Steve growled, and Danny, as usual, completely ignored the warning. “But you can’t yell at Rachel. You will never tell her what you think of her. So, every woman who ever wrongs a man is going to get an earful from you, isn’t she? Just like anyone who is involved in a son losing his father earns your special wrath.” Danny sighed. “I get it babe, I do, and honestly, God, I’m so touched. But I don’t want it to hurt you. I don’t want _her_ to hurt you. She’s hurt me enough. Please don’t take that on too. I need you to be the voice of ‘don’t yell in front of the kids’ because I gotta tell you, I have a hell of a time remembering that on my own.”

Steve let out a breath. But he didn’t look at Danny. “I’m never going to forgive her. And I’ll never be nice to her.”

“I know, babe, and believe me, I love you for that. Just. Please. Be careful.”

“So, speaking of Rachel,” Steve said, after just a short pause, and Danny had to wonder how much of this really had been about Rachel... and the coming weekend.

“Oh God, do we have to?”

“What does she know? I mean, what have you said to her about... well.....” And Danny couldn’t help but smile at Steve’s sweet awkwardness.

“Absolutely nothing. It is none of her business.” And yeah, ok, maybe Danny’s tone was a bit snippy. “All she needs to know is that you invited the kids here because of the beach and camping.”

“But don’t you think....”

“What?”

“Well... Grace seems to....” And Steve looked at Danny like he was getting annoyed that Danny didn’t know where he was trying to go with this, and Danny smiled a little, because this was familiar territory. And, yeah, he knew where Steve was going, so he decided not to make him suffer.

“How much do you guys communicate?” Danny asked instead, and he suddenly wondered why he hadn’t been concerned about this before. He knew that they did text and even talk on the phone on a somewhat regular basis... they had for years now, and he hadn’t really thought about that, but he was maybe kicking himself a little bit for not paying more attention to that.....

Interestingly, Steve side-stepped answering that. “I just think that Grace is going to pick up on something, and do you want to head it off, before she’s the one to say something to Rachel.”

“Oh, my God, Steven. Are you suggesting that I speak to my ex about you?”

“No, Danny, I’m not. I’m just making sure you’re thinking about this, and not getting into something that is going to wind up being a mess and causing problems.” He sighed, and Danny was suddenly worried about the expression on Steve’s face. “Look. All I’m saying is, kids are perceptive. And, kids say things without realizing it.” He took a deep breath. “You talk about not wanting to mess this up? Us, here, this thing between us? Well, I don’t want that either, ok? And, yeah, maybe I’m a little bit concerned about what Rachel might... do.... You’re the one who pointed out that it was essentially because of me that she took Charlie away from you in the first place. I just.... If she decided to try to keep them from you because of me.... Danny, I just.” And he sighed, and looked like yes, this had been bothering him, and Danny was mad at himself for a moment, that he hadn’t seen that coming.

“You know, interestingly, Steven, I don’t think she’d dare. And not just because of that little trick you pulled once before. But...” and he sighed. “She may have done some horrible things, things I can never forgive. But, she’s not so completely awful a person that she would destroy Grace’s relationship with me because of some crazy vindictive thing against you.... And, really, when it comes down to it, she probably already knows. I mean, if she thought, way back then....” and Danny trailed off. Rachel had known about his other relationships, knew his type... maybe she really had thought, all the way back then, that his motivation for staying was something other than he’d thought it had been at the time.... And then he smiled. “She probably thinks you’re good for me.” And he laughed a little, as he thought about it. “Because she knows...” and he got a little teary eyed, and bit at his bottom lip. “She knows how you pull at me, how you push me, and she’s always thought I needed that, but she never was one to do it... she always expected me to do it myself. And, well.” Danny sighed. There were many, many reasons their relationship had failed, and yeah, trust was certainly a key issue, as was Rachel’s disdain for his work, but Rachel’s belief that Danny needed a good push to keep him on track, but refusing herself to do anything about it other than complain to him, to judge him.... Well. Steve just pushed. And pushed. Danny smiled as he thought about that.

Steve seemed reassured, at least a little. “Ok,” he replied. “So, we’re not worrying about this, then?”

“I kind of think that’s how we’ve done all of this so far, and it hasn’t been awful yet, so yeah. Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

And, like he so often did, Steve just dropped it. “Omelets for dinner ok?”

“Yeah, babe, sounds great.”

They ate them out on the upstairs lanai, and Danny found himself feeling oddly sentimental, and they stayed up too late, and they just sat close, feeling the ease, the comfort, and eventually, when they tumbled into bed, they made love slowly, so slowly, so openly, so exposed, so vulnerable, and Danny didn’t think he’d ever felt so unguarded, so defenseless, and yet so empowered at the same time. He didn’t tend to think of himself as needing to be healed from his previous relationships, but he realized that was what was happening, and he was stunned by that. They fell asleep fairly quickly once they’d finished, but Danny found himself awake early the next morning, long before it was time to get up, and his mind was so full he couldn’t see separate thoughts, just the whole, and there weren’t even bits that shone out, it was more the combined weight of the whole thing... and, yeah, it pulled at him, it pushed... it just _was_. And it was like it bolstered him, just sat there resting against him, like Steve’s body, and it was warm, and it was encouraging, and it was comforting, in ways Danny probably would not have admitted he needed—ok, _wanted_. And it was as if a section of his armor just fell away, but instead of being terrified by that, he felt emboldened by it, and that was new and kind of raw, but he decided that it felt hopeful, and the promise of what might come was beginning to be a source of joy and not fear, and he shook his head, blinked a couple of tears out, and leaned in closer to the warm, strong, sweet body next to his, and fell back asleep.


	5. Friday

When Danny woke in the morning, he knew Steve was watching him. He turned over and smiled easily.

“Hey, babe,” he whispered. “Love you.”

Steve smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “I love _you_ , Danny.” He gathered Danny in his arms and held him so close. “I just want to stay here all day. Do we have to go to work? Ugh, yesterday was just....” He sighed.

Danny squeezed back. “It’s been one hell of a week, that’s for sure,” Danny replied.

“It has, hasn’t it,” Steve said thoughtfully. “And, we have a busy weekend to get ready for....” And it was like he decided something, Danny could tell, the way his body shifted, and Danny laughed when Steve flipped him over onto his back, pressing into him, brushing the hair back from his face, leaning in to claim his lips for a bruising kiss. “I need you,” he whispered. “I need you so much,” he said to Danny’s lips as he kissed him again, softer but still heated. “Call Kono, tell her we’ll be late,” Steve called as he got up from the bed and headed downstairs.

Feeling bereft without Steve’s weight on top of him, Danny grabbed his phone and shot Kono a text saying they’d be in later. She sent a winky face back almost instantly, and Danny laughed, then headed awkwardly down the stairs to see what Steve was up to. He found him at the coffeemaker, putting the coffee on. He sidled up behind him, wrapping his arms around Steve’s middle, pressing against him. Steve growled and turned around in Danny’s arms to kiss him almost frantically.

“God, Danny, how am I going to survive this weekend?” He breathed out. “I am so excited to have the kids here, so excited. But how am I going to keep my hands off you all weekend long?”

“Leave the coffee, Steven,” Danny said, pulling on him, leading him back upstairs.

Danny took control, pushing Steve onto the bed, holding him down, and taunting him with feathery kisses till he begged, but Danny just smirked.

“I want to know,” Danny whispered, almost hoarsely, “that you’re thinking of _this_ ,” he said, thrusting his hips down onto Steve’s, “that it’s driving you crazy, not being able to touch me,” he bit Steve’s lower lip, then kissed it. “I want to know you’re going mad wanting me alone,” he rasped out, his own need beginning to drive him crazy. “And all day Monday, at work, I want you thinking of what you’ll do to me that night....” and he just couldn’t take it any longer, he left a trail of kisses all the way down Steve’s brilliant chest, working his way down, then carefully pulling Steve’s shorts down, taking him into his mouth.

Steve gasped and dug his fingers in Danny’s hair and held him there for a while, but then tugged him up and captured his lips with his own, and flipped Danny onto his back, somehow removing Danny’s own shorts in the same move, and Danny laughed and grabbed Steve’s ass, pulling it against him.

“I’m not going to make it,” Steve groaned. “I just...” and he came with a grunt and fell against Danny, practically sobbing with frustration. “You. Drive. Me. Crazy.”

Danny smirked. “I’ve heard that from you before, strangely.” And he smiled fondly for a moment before he realized what he’d said, what Steve had all but admitted. “Hang on, we’ve been here before,” he tried not to laugh, but he was finding himself overwhelmed with giddiness. Tilting his head and looking closely at Steve, he mused. “Huh, I do drive you crazy, don’t I? In all the best possible ways.” And he claimed Steve’s lips, and Steve just melted into the kiss, reaching down, and bringing Danny with him. As Danny gasped out his release, Steve whispered:

“Always.”

By the time they made it into the office, it was past lunch time, and Danny did not miss the way Kono smirked at them as they walked by her office. He and Steve went directly to their respective offices, and as Danny sat, his phone beeped at him.

 _Miss you already_.

He knew he smirked.

 _Keep it in your pants, babe. I’ll make it up to you_.

It surprised him how long it took Steve to reply.

 _I’ll hold you to that_.

With a laugh he set his phone down and turned to his work. He’d never been so grateful for mindless stacks of paperwork, and he impressed himself by getting through it at a reasonable pace. Five o’clock came and went, and slowly the other members of the team headed out for their weekends. He and Steve had time to make up for, so they stayed. By six, Steve came in to Danny’s office, and perched on the edge of his desk.

“Ok, I’ve been good all day.”

Danny smiled. “Hardly, babe, we only got in at one.”

“Alright, I’ve been good half the day.” Steve smirked. “Can we please go home now?”

“Let me just finish this one thing....” And Danny trailed off, pretending to finish something, but really finding he was completely distracted by the way Steve was eyeing him. Still, he couldn’t resist, and made him sit there for a good while before he finally stood and said, “Ok, let’s go.”

When they got home, Steve said he didn’t want to swim, he’d rather just spend the time with Danny. For about three seconds, Danny thought about insisting Steve swim, but Steve kissed him, and he caved.

“Let’s get take out tonight, Danno, I don’t think I’m up for cooking.”

“Babe, I _can_ cook, you know.”

Steve smiled sweetly, and pulled Danny in for a long, slow, tender kiss. “I know,” he whispered. “But tonight I want your focus on me, not on burning my house down.” He paused. “ _Our_ house.” And he smiled, but before Danny could react to that change, he turned and headed for the take out menu drawer in the kitchen. “Pizza, Danno? Or Chinese?” And it was not lost on Danny, not for one second, where those two choices had come from.

Smiling, and following Steve to the kitchen, he said easily, “Either babe, sounds great.”

They sat on the sofa, leaning against one another, eating pizza, drinking beer, not paying attention to some cop show they were not watching, focused only on each other, slightly overwhelmed by things. Half way through the pizza they wound up making out like teenagers on the sofa.

“Oh my God,” Danny gasped as he pulled back at one point. “You’re right. How are we going to survive this weekend?” He laughed slightly uncomfortably and then Steve pulled him back in for another fierce kiss.

“Like you said,” he ground out between nips at Danny’s bottom lip. “We make up for it.” And he rose, leaving the pizza on the coffee table, pulling Danny up with him, and dragging him up the stairs and into bed.

When they were finally, _finally_ satisfied, they lay back, tangled in each other’s limbs, gasping slightly, and smiling hugely.

“I meant it, you know,” Steve whispered.

Danny turned towards him, propping himself up on an elbow, reaching up to stroke Steve’s hair. “What’s that, babe?” He asked softly.

“Our house, Danny. Our _home_. I know it’s fast, but,” he laughed, “Really, it’s not fast at all. And, really, it’s been yours from the beginning.”

Danny took a deep, deep breath and let it out very slowly. “Jesus, Steven, that’s more romantic than anything I managed to say to you....”

Steve smiled and kissed him lightly. “It’s not. It’s just the truth. Your words, those things you said....” He blushed. “How I ground you, how I balance you... those things are amazing thoughts.” He shook his head. “Things I just can’t come up with. But this, home, being about us. That’s. Well. It just is.”

Danny leaned in and kissed him slowly, tenderly. “Babe, don’t sell yourself short. It’s just as amazing as anything I could say about how you affect me. I just ramble, try to make sense of what it is you do to me. But, saying this is _ours_... that’s precious.” Danny realized he was starting to cry. “I haven’t had a _home_ since Rachel. So don’t pretend this isn’t huge for me. Ok?” And he wiped his tears away, and Steve pulled him into his arms and kissed the top of his head, and Danny huffed out a laugh. “Thank you, babe.”

“No, Danny,” Steve said, kissing his head again. “Thank _you_. It’s been a long time since this place really felt like a home. For longer than a few days, anyway.” And suddenly Danny realized what Steve was thinking about, and he had a moment of panic.

“Hey, babe,” he pulled back to look in Steve’s eyes. “Is having the kids here going to remind you of that? Of having your family here... of when Deb died?”

Steve swallowed. “Yeah, a little. But in a good way, and I think...” he sighed. “I think it’ll be good for me.” And he smiled, proudly, and Danny laughed softly, leaning in for a lingering kiss.

“I’m glad.” He looked deeply into Steve’s eyes. “But, tell me if it’s hard, ok? Please.”

Steve nodded and pulled Danny closer. “Yeah, Danny. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you are anxious for Part Eight..... So, here's my plan. I've got a BYS and hopefully a "Date Night" TBM for next week. Then on May 1st, I'm planning on posting chapter one of Part Eight. I'm not sure yet how many chapters it will be. Possibly three, maybe four... (they'll be every-other-day, as usual). I'll post an update when I post the BYS/TBM chapters. :-)


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